January was the warmest on record for the state and nation, and cold snaps have been few and far between.

Despite those climatological facts, gas bills have been quite a surprise to some, although the monthly statements could've been a lot worse.

On the week of Jan. 26, the Oklahoma City call center at ONG fielded 109,077 calls from customers inquiring about high bills, ONG spokesman Don Sherry said.

It's been extraordinary, Sherry said. It's fair to say the (local) call center has been inundated. Customers faced higher bills than ever, and we had a record number of calls.

December calls were 59 percent higher than during the same month of 2004.

And then came the last week of January, when ONG was faced with 33 percent more inquiries than it had in the same period of January 2005.

The average residential consumption in December for ONG customers was 10.47 dekatherms, which averages out to $143.71 per customer, not including taxes. In January, the average residential consumption was 15.23 dekatherms for an average of $168.27 per customer.

For commercial customers, December consumption averaged 30.75 dekatherms for an average bill of $429.96 per customer, not including taxes. Those totals went up in January to 46.29 dekatherms and an average of $510.75 per customer.

Expecting lower bills was a logical expectation because of the mild weather, except that the commodity price was higher than ever, Sherry said. It was a source of confusion.

Natural gas futures have declined recently.

It reached a high in January of $12.01 per dekatherm and has declined since, Sherry said.

While customers have been quick to point out the unusually warm weather, the one thing that happened, and it's already been forgotten, is that during December we had extremely bitter cold weather for a few days, he said. Coupled with high prices, it made bills higher for the month. People got bills and couldn't believe them. It created a great deal of angst. The situation has improved.

ONG usually reminds customers that it is a utility and doesn't profit off natural gas sales. We acquire natural gas through others and sell to customers at cost, Sherry said. We are not allowed to profit off the gas. Our earnings are through the service and we have 17,000 miles of pipeline in Oklahoma.

Currently customers are paying about $9.59 per dekatherm, about 25 percent less than the peak price two months ago.

There's a downward trend in natural gas on the futures market, he said. But there is no direct correlation between the price now and what customers pay. We buy our gas supply in spring and summer and have price contracts that are locked in. Prices are tied to market indices.

Sherry said about 80,000 customers signed up for the company's Voluntary Fixed Price Plan, which had a fixed price of $8.39. It was our largest enrollment, he said. We present it as an option. They will not necessarily save money because they lock into $8.39. They have benefited thus far, but they are on a 12-month commitment.

ONG also offered average payment plans. It averages the previous 12 months and takes the tops off higher bills, he said. While customers benefit in the winter months on the plan, their summer bills are higher than normal.